Chapter 2: Rebirth
’What?’
Isabella opened her eyes.
’Wait a minute’
The realization hit her with a sudden, staggering force.
She was no longer trapped in her body, and she wasn’t in her father’s mansion anymore either.
She drifted in an empty, timeless space, as if her spirit was suspended between worlds.
A transparent golden screen appeared in front of her.
What followed was a text that materialized in ancient characters.
[Welcome host!]
[The Wheel of Fate has detected deviation.]
The words burned in the air, glowing with a soft steady heat. Isabella tried to say something, but the sound that left her lips felt strange, as if it belonged to someone else entirely.
[The Celestial Record has acknowledged your soul.]
[Mortal vessel: deceased.]
She suddenly felt like she couldn’t breathe for a moment, even though she no longer had a body to breathe with.
’Deceased?’
[Correct. Your thread of life has been severed.]
[However... your final desire has reached the hands of fate.]
The golden characters shifted, rewriting themselves across the screen.
[Wish detected.]
["I wish I could change my fate."]
The floating letters paused for a long moment, the golden light beating gently against the darkness like a heart.
[Request acknowledged.]
[The River of Time cannot be reversed without consequence. The dead cannot return without offering something in exchange.]
Isabella stared at the floating words, her heart aching with the memory of Kian’s cold voice, of her father’s forgotten warnings.
She didn’t care about the cost. She just wanted to fix it.
[A debt shall be carved upon your soul. You shall walk once more among the living. But what was borrowed from fate must one day be returned. One life was stolen from you. One life shall be returned. But remember, Isabella Kingston... fate does not forgive debts.]
[By this binding rule, you shall never speak of this unto another mortal. To break this vow is to have the contract undone.]
[Rebirth Seal activated.]
[Mark of the Returned: Applied.]
A sudden, blinding fire exploded across the back of her ear, a searing heat that felt as though a branding iron was pressing deep into her spirit.
The agony dragged her downward, pulling her soul backward through a turbulent, twisting whirlwind.
[The seal shall remain until your debt is fulfilled.]
Then, the light vanished, and the world collapsed back into absolute blackness.
Isabella shot upright from the bed with a violent scream.
Her hands thrashed wildly against the heavy cotton sheets, her fingers clawing at the mattress as her lungs struggled to pull in air.
She was hyperventilating, her ribs hurting from the force of her beating heart.
The familiar darkness she had grown accustomed to was back.
"Bella? Bella, hey, calm down!"
A large, warm hand held onto her bare shoulder.
Isabella flinched so hard she nearly rolled off the edge of the mattress, her entire body shaking as the familiar scent of a man and expensive toothpaste filled her nose.
The mattress dipped as the heavy weight of the man next to her moved closer.
It was her husband, Kian.
Isabella pressed her good right hand against her temple. The skin was smooth. There was no blood, no shattered bone, no hole from a bullet.
But the phantom sensation of the gun still burned against her skin so vividly that her stomach twisted with severe nausea.
She was back in their shared bedroom, the heavy silence of the house pressing down on her.
"Did you have a nightmare?" Kian asked, his voice thick and deep with sleep.
He sounded completely soft, his tone dripping with the gentle concern that used to make her feel protected. He reached out again, his fingers brushing her arm.
Isabella kept her useless eyes wide open, staring straight into the blurry dark.
Her mind raced through the horror of the hallway, the sound of the shattering vase, the casual way he had admitted to ruining her life.
She felt an overwhelming urge to scream, to hit him, to run out into the night.
But the memory of her death was too clear. If she revealed too much now, he would just kill her again. She had to survive.
"Kian," she rasped, her throat incredibly dry. She pulled the heavy blanket up to her chin to hide her trembling frame. "What... what day is it? Tell me the exact date."
He let out a soft, confused chuckle, shifting his pillows in the dark. "It’s the twentieth of June, sweetheart. And it’s three in the morning. Go back to sleep."
"What year?"
"What?" Kian asked in confusion. "Isabella, what’s this all about?"
"Just answer me." Isabella demanded.
"It’s 2026."
June 20th, 2026. She calculated the timeline frantically in her head. It was exactly three months before her hospital visit. Three months before her murder.
Isabella buried her face in her hands, silent, heavy tears finally soaking through her fingers. She was back, but the realization was a brutal slap in the face.
This meant she had already signed the papers. Her father’s properties and the entire Kingston wealth belonged to Kian now.
And if she tried to get it back, he could have her murdered.
The monster who had orchestrated her downfall was sleeping in the very same bed, and she was completely trapped.
What would she do now?
...
Isabella didn’t sleep for the rest of the night.
She lay perfectly still, pretending to be asleep while her mind worked through the puzzle of her past life, trying to understand how she went back in time and what the words she saw on the screen meant.
The mark behind her ears throbbed faintly which meant none of this was a dream.
Beside her, Kian slept soundly, his usual breathing a constant, maddening reminder of his betrayal.
When the faint morning light began to brighten the room, Kian finally woke up.
He kissed her forehead gently, whispering that he was going downstairs to get ready for work, before leaving the room.
The moment the heavy bedroom door clicked shut, Isabella slid out of bed. She found her folding cane by the nightstand, her fingers tracing the familiar metal joints.
Her body felt heavy, uncooperative, as if her spirit was still settling into her flesh.
As she dressed in simple clothes, she reached behind her left ear. Her skin felt completely smooth to the touch except for the tiny scar hidden from the world.
The mark of her debt.
She got ready for the day and tapped her way down the grand staircase, her skin crawling as her boots stepped over the exact wooden steps where she had rolled and hurt herself and her pregnancy.
She forced herself to remain calm, arriving at the entrance of the large kitchen.
"Good morning, Isabella," Kian said, his footsteps approaching from the island.
He met her halfway across the room, his hands sliding naturally around her waist to pull her into a soft kiss. "How are you feeling? You really scared me last night."
Isabella leaned into him, forcing herself to relax against his chest.
Her blood curdled at his touch, every instinct screaming at her to pull away from the man who had shot her point-blank.
"I’m sorry about the fuss," she murmured, keeping her voice low and regular. "I must have had a really bad nightmare."
"Do you want to tell me about it?" He pressed another warm kiss to her cheek, his thumb tracing her cheekbone.
’It was about you,’ she thought, her teeth grinding together behind her lips. ’It was about you betraying me and shooting me.’
But of course she couldn’t say that.
"I don’t even remember it now," she said aloud instead, offering a small, weak smile. "Just a lot of noise and darkness."
"Well, you’re safe now," he murmured. He guided her toward the dinning area, pulling out her usual chair.
The kitchen door swung open with a soft creak, and the heavy scent of toasted bread and black tea filled the air.
"Look at you two, still acting like newlyweds," Aria said, her voice warm and light as she set a tray on the table. Aria had been Isabella’s nanny since her mother died at childbirth, a constant, loving presence in the estate.
Isabella felt a fresh wave of heartbreak wash over her. Aria was so genuinely sweet, completely oblivious to the fact that her own daughter, Alice, was currently sleeping with Kian and had succeeded in her plan to steal everything the Kingstons owned.
"We have to take care of her, Aria," Kian said, his tone dripping with doting affection.
"She seems a bit sensitive today." He turned back to Isabella, his fingers lingering on her shoulder. "Don’t forget you have your regular checkup at the clinic this afternoon. I have an investor meeting at the office that might run late, but I can have Luke drive you."
Isabella’s stomach tightened. Luke. Her personal bodyguard. In her past life, Luke had tried to discourage her from coming home early that fateful afternoon.
She had thought he was just being professional, but now she realized the truth. Luke knew about the affair. He was reporting her every movement to Kian. He was a spy in her own shadow.
"Actually, I think I’m going to stay home today," Isabella said, keeping her tone casual as she reached for her tea. "My head still aches from last night. I just want to rest."
Kian paused, his silence lasting just a second too long. "Are you sure? Skipping your doctor’s appointment isn’t a good idea, Bella."
"I’m sure. I just need sleep," she insisted.
"All right," Kian said after a moment. He leaned down, pressing a third, lingering kiss to her lips that made her want to scrub her skin raw. "Call me if you change your mind. Aria, look after her."
A few minutes later, the heavy front door slammed shut. Through the wide front windows, Isabella heard the distant engine sound of Kian’s sedan starting up.
Outside on the gravel driveway, Kian stopped by the rear door of the car. Luke stood waiting in his neat, black suit.
Kian caught the bodyguard’s eye, giving him a hard, pointed look. "Keep a closer eye on her today. She’s acting strange. Do not let her out of your sight."
"Yes Sir." Luke gave a single, firm nod, and the car drove away.
Back inside, Isabella finished her tea in silence, listening to the quiet clatter of Aria cleaning the counters.
She felt utterly helpless. She was a blind woman trapped in a massive house, surrounded by spies, with her entire fortune already signed away to her murderer.
She couldn’t trust the lawyers; Kian likely controlled them. She couldn’t trust her staff.
"Aria, I’m going back upstairs to lie down," Isabella said, rising from the dinning table and gripping her cane.
"Of course, sweetie. Call me if you need anything," the old maid replied softly.
As Isabella walked through the foyer, she could feel a heavy gaze on her back. She paused, her ears picking up the faint, rhythmic creak of leather shoes near the formal living room.
Luke was already there, watching her from a distance like a hawk.
She kept her expression completely blank, finding her way back up the stairs and locking her bedroom door behind her.
The large bedroom was awfully quiet.
To break the heavy silence, Isabella walked over to the dresser and turned on the television, raising the volume until the loud chatter of a morning news broadcast filled the corners of the room.
She needed the background noise to drown out her own fearful thoughts.
She picked up her tablet from the bed, the screen reading out commands as she moved her fingers over its accessibility layout.
She began scrolling through her contacts, her mind desperately searching for anyone who could help her.
Her father’s old business associates? No, Kian had already replaced most of the board. Her distant cousins? They hadn’t spoken to her since her blindness began.
Every single name that popped up felt like a lethal trap.
Frustration boiled in her chest, a hot, desperate knot tightening in her throat. She was going to fail. She was going to die all over again.
Suddenly, the loud voice of the news anchor cut through her panic, reporting on a massive corporate acquisition.
"...marking a historic billion-dollar achievement for the automotive sector this quarter. The controversial takeover was finalized late last night by the enigmatic head of the syndicate himself."
Isabella froze, her fingers hovering over the screen of her tab as the anchor pronounced the name clearly through the speakers.
"Aaron Kazarov, the ruthless leader behind the rapid expansion of the Lotus conglomerate, has once again defied market expectations..."
She froze.
’Wait a minute.’